THE acquisition of Proven Bank has catapulted Proven Group’s total assets to over US$1 billion. Net revenues surged by nearly 30 per cent to reach $49.64 million.

“Proven Bank’s acquisition took us over a billion US in total assets — which is, you know, obviously a historic achievement for the group to now be in excess of a billion US dollars in total assets. And to think when we started this business 13 years ago, with 20 million US in total assets, that 13 years later we’d be in excess of a billion!” said Group CEO Christopher Williams at its annual general meeting on Tuesday.

Williams expressed optimism for the bank’s revenue stream, justifying it by highlighting its performance in the short time frame. The bank acquired Proven Bank in the first week of February 2022 and by the summer the bank recorded a net profit of $6.04 million, according to its annual report. Proven Group has made significant strides in its banking sector with the acquisition of Fidelity Bank (Cayman) Limited — now renamed Proven Bank (Cayman) Limited — and Boslil Bank Limited, now known as Proven Bank (Saint Lucia) Limited. Despite challenging market conditions, including a hike in interest rates driven by the Federal Reserve in the US, Proven Group’s net interest income saw a remarkable 241.8 per cent jump. Group CEO Christopher Williams attributed the increase to a shift from commercial to residential assets, leading to better yields and improved risk ratios.

However, the company faced setbacks in the form of declining profits from associated companies — notably JMMB and Sagicor Financial — due to global interest rate movements. The company recorded a loss for the financial year of US$5.36 million. The share of results among associates, particular – ly from JMMB Group, took a hit, plunging from US$14.46 million to US$8 million. This decline was attributed to global interest rate move – ments impacting JMMB and Sagicor Financial, in which Proven is a significant shareholder. Additionally, Proven Group experienced a significant impairment of investments in associated companies and intangible assets, resulting in a loss for the financial year.

“It was two — one for $7 million for Access [Financial Services Company Limited] and for, I believe, $4 million for PWL [Proven Wealth (Cayman) Limited] in region two. So with those two impairments and the drop in share of profits from JMMB, we were pretty much doomed from there to run into a loss,” he explained.

On the positive side, Proven Group’s manufacturing operations saw a substantial 16.8 per cent increase in gross profit, reaching $9.97 million. Additionally, their property sales recorded a significant turnaround, with profits amounting to $2.03 million and driven by successful development projects in Jamaica, VIA at Braemar, and Cesar. Proven Property Limited (PPL) plans to expand its portfolio through creative deal structures and marketing efforts in various regions. In its annual report it boasted that it is poised for a busy year with the launch of two major residential development projects, Sol Harbour in Ocho Rios and Bahari in Runaway Bay.

“They have been consistently hitting their profit targets for each development, and all our rental properties are 100 percent occupied with no issues; there haven’t been any tenants lost,” Williams said proudly. Furthermore, Proven Group will focus on growing its industrial real estate portfolio with the completion of Ashgo warehouses in Grand Cayman and the ground-breaking for Kingston Gateway Warehouses in Jamaica. All these endeavours will be consolidated at their new home, Proven Place, a joint venture commercial development undertaken by PPL which, Williams revealed, will be occupied this month.